ROME, Italy — Pope Francis ended his visit to Budapest, Hungary, on Sunday by praising Hungarians for their deeply Christian spirit.
“I give thanks to the great Hungarian Christian family, which I wish to embrace in its rites, in its history, in the Catholic sisters and brothers and of other confessions, all on the way to full unity,” the pope exclaimed, following the Angelus prayer in Budapest’s Heroes Plaza.
The pontiff thanked Patriarch Bartholomew, “who honors us with his presence,” as well as “my beloved brother bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and all of you, dear faithful.”
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – SEPTEMBER 12: Catholic pilgrims attend a large-scale, open-air mass with Pope Francis on the first day of a four-day visit by the Pope to Hungary and Slovakia on September 12, 2021 in Budapest, Hungary. Pope Francis is on an apostolic trip to Budapest and Slovakia from September 12 to 15. The Pontiff will visit five cities, starting with the Hungarian capital for the closing Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress, continuing with the Slovak capital Bratislava, and stopping by the three Slovak cities of Kosice, Presov and Sastin. Only fully vaccinated and a limited number of tested worshippers will be allowed to attend public gatherings on this occasion. (Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images)
“For a thousand years the cross was the pillar of your salvation, that now also the sign of Christ be for you the promise of a better future,” Francis said, citing a hymn sung during the International Eucharistic Congress that ended today.
Virtually unique among the nations of the European Union (EU), Hungary has proudly reaffirmed its Christian roots and identity in the face of a growing secularism and anti-Christian hostility.
“In European politics it is the turn of the anti-communist generation, which has Christian convictions and commitment to the nation,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared in 2018.
“Christian democracy is not about defending religious articles of faith,” he stated.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – SEPTEMBER 12: Catholic clergy members and a choir attend an open-air Sunday mass with Pope Francis on Heroes’ Square on September 12, 2021 in Budapest, Hungary. Pope Francis is on an apostolic trip to Budapest and Slovakia from September 12 to 15. The Pontiff will visit five cities, starting with the Hungarian capital for the closing mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress, continuing with the Slovak capital Bratislava, and visiting the three Slovak cities of Kosice, Presov and Sastin. Only fully vaccinated and a limited number of tested worshippers will be allowed to attend public gatherings on this occasion. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
“Christian democratic politics means that the ways of life springing from Christian culture must be protected,” he said. “These include human dignity, the family and the nation – because Christianity does not seek to attain universality through the abolition of nations, but through the preservation of nations.”
In his Angelus address in Budapest Sunday, Pope Francis said he desires that “the cross may be your bridge between the past and the future.”
“Religious sentiment is the lifeblood of this nation, so tied to its roots,” he asserted. “But the cross, planted in the ground, in addition to inviting us to root ourselves well, raises and extends its arms to everyone; it exhorts to keep the roots firm, but without closing in; to resort to sources, opening up to the thirsty of our time.”